Caste away

Caste discrimination affects around 260 million people worldwide and, after the long-awaited Equality Act 2010 received Royal Assent earlier this month, it looks set to become unlawful in the UK. Following an amendment proposed in the House of Lords, the government will have the power to amend the definition of 'race' to provide for caste to be an aspect of race. Whether or not the government exercises this power will partly depend on the outcome of the research now being undertaken by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) (which will be published in August 2010) and partly on the priorities of whichever party wins the election.

Defining the complex caste system is far from straightforward. The International Dalit Solidarity Network, for example, describes caste systems as a form of social and economic governance that is based on principles and customary rules, involving the division of people into social groups (castes) where assignments of rights are determined by birth, are fixed and hereditary.

The caste system is traditionally associated with South Asia (where, for example, 'Dalits', or 'untouchables', fall outside the caste hierarchy). However, such systems are also present in Africa and Japan and can operate across Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Christian communities.

This type of discrimination should not be confused with the measures in the Equality Act aimed at tackling socio-economic disadvantage.

International recognition

The concept of caste discrimination has been recognised on an international level. For example, the United Nations International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which was ratified by the UK in 1969, defines 'racial discrimination' as 'any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life'.

While there has been some debate about the distinction between 'descent' and 'caste', the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which monitors implementation of the convention, confirmed in 2002 that discrimination based on 'descent' includes 'discrimination against members of communities based on forms of social stratification such as caste and analogous systems of inherited status', and strongly condemned 'descent-based discrimination, such as discrimination on the basis of caste and analogous systems of inherited status, as a violation of the convention'.

Although a number of countries have legislation to address caste discrimination, there is no specific legal recognition of such discrimination in the UK and caste does not necessarily fall squarely into existing race or religious discrimination legislation.

Evidence of discrimination

When the government published its response to the Equality Bill consultation in 2008, it stated that it would not extend protection against caste discrimination. Although it recognised that caste discrimination was unacceptable, it found no strong evidence of such discrimination occurring in the UK in the specific fields covered by discrimination law (e.g. employment, vocational training, the provision of goods, facilities or services).

This decision was based on the responses received to an informal survey, of around 20 key stakeholders, conducted by the Communities and Local Government Department. The government noted that, to the extent that caste may be a factor in individual decision making, some anecdotal evidence suggested that this was a reflection of social or cultural considerations; for example, in choosing who to marry. However, it stated that an individual's marriage choice was not a matter for discrimination law.

A number of the organisations working towards the elimination of caste discrimination believe that Asian migration has imported the caste system into the UK and that the discrimination extends beyond social interaction. During the passage of the Equality Bill, representations were made by such organisations to highlight the evidence of caste discrimination in the UK.

In November 2009, between the committee and report stages of the Equality Bill, the Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance also published its report on caste discrimination in the UK. In the employment field alone, it found that, because of their caste, 45 per cent of those surveyed had been treated in a negative way or had comments made about them; 25 per cent had been informally excluded from social events, informal networks or the 'grapevine'; ten per cent had been underpaid and nine per cent had missed out on promotion.

The government acknowledged the impact of the representations and the report and the Equality Bill was subsequently amended to include a power to outlaw caste discrimination in the future. The government also commissioned research to inform and shape its policy on caste discrimination.

For those who have campaigned to increase awareness of caste discrimination in the UK, the amendment to the Equality Bill clearly represents a significant achievement. However, in the absence of a specific provision to prohibit caste discrimination, the extent to which the amendment will be successful depends on the outcome of the research from the NIESR.

It is now only a matter of months before we find out whether the evidence will demonstrate, as is expected by many, that caste should be a permanent feature within UK discrimination legislation.